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What it is to be a Union Member in 2014

1st. And Foremost, “It’s Not Just About “you” Anymore. “You” Have To Realize, That The Pie Really Is Big Enough For All Of Us. We All have To Eat. We Are Powerless On Our Own so Our Greatest Strength Is In Unity Of Numbers. If Ever “you”, “your” Brother, Or “your” Sister Member Is Wronged, We As A Whole Will Help “you” Fight To Right That Wrong. So “you” Must conduct “yourself” In A Manner That Bennefits All Of “your” Brothers And Sisters Instead Of Just One Of Us.

2nd. “Your” Actions “Will” Be Held Accountable. How “you” Conduct “yourself” While Performing “your” Craft Effects All Of Us. The Detrimental Treatment Of Our Trade Or Another Member Of Our Trade Will Not Be Tolerated. Expect To Be “Dealt With Harshly”, If “you” Let Greed Come Before Us All. We WILL Stand Against “you”. The Only Way We Have To Combat Greed, Is To Hurt The Greedy Where It Hurts Most, In Their “Pocketbooks”. So Expect Proper Financial Reparation If “your” Actions Call For it.

3rd. A Privilege Of being A Member Is That “you” Get To Enjoy The Benefits Of Collective Bargaining. That Means Men And Women Of Our Choosing Will Negotiate For Our benefit As A Whole. “you” Expect Them To Represent “you” With The Utmost Class And Respect, They Will Expect “you” To Conduct “yourself” In The Same Manner, While Performing “your” Duties, In The Course Of “your” Membership.

4th. Treat “your” Elder, More Experienced Journeymen, With Respect. They Didn’t Get Through All Those Years Without Gaining The Knowledge Of The Business, And How It’s Run. “You” Can’t Learn These Skills In A Book Or Class. It Takes Years Of Experience. Listen To What They Have To Say And “you” Will, Learn Something. “You” Will Also, Be A Senior Member One Day, And “you” Will Deserve That Same Respect. “You” Get The Respect “you” Show.

5th. The More “you” Learn Our Trade, The More Responsibilities Will Be Placed On “you”. If “you” Are Ever In The Position To Lead Men And Women, “you” Must Treat Those Men And Women As “you” Would Want To Be Treated. Don’t Ever Ask Someone To do Something “you” Wouldn’t, Do “yourself”. If A Brother Or Sister Has A Complaint, Deal With “It”, As if “It” Is “your” Complaint, And Look For A Prompt Resolution. “You” Are “your” Brothers And Sisters Keeper, And He Or She Is “yours”. We Are In “This” Together, So Think Of Us All, When Making “your” Decisions.

6th. Do Not Search For Accolades For Doing What Is Expected of “you”. “you” Do Not Need To Ask For Promotions. They Will Be Asked Of “you” When “you” Have Shown “you” Deserve “It”. The Men And Women Of This Business Have Been Doing “It”, For A Long Time. They Can See What And How Much “you” Know Through “your” Actions. When “you” Know Our Trade, “you” Won’t Wave To Convince Us, We Will See It. Time Is The Only True Judge Of Character. If “you’ve” Earned “It”, “you” Will Get “It”.

7th. Treat Every Project As If “you” Own It. “You” Would Expect Nothing But The Utmost Quality Of Work In “your” Home. We Expect Nothing Less. This Is Our Livelihood So Don’t Disrespect “It”. Give it “your” All. Done Right The First Time, Is Better Than Doing “It” Over. Quality Every Time, Is One Of Our Bargaining Chips. Take Pride In “your” Work. We Take Pride, in Our Knowledge Of The Craft. So “you” Must Do The Same.

8th. Respect The Scheduled Work Hours. We Are Paid Hourly. That Pay Starts And Stops At A Certain Time. So Be Prepared To Perform “your” Duties During Those Hours. If Their Is A Reason That “you” Can’t Perform “your” Duties When Expected, Let “your” Superior Know, With As Much Advanced Notice As Possible. So That the Project is Not Put into Detriment because of “your” Absence. Each of Us are Depended Upon to be Ready and Fit for Duty at the Start of Each Workday. Do Not Abuse the System, We have a Project to Complete, On Time and Under Budget.

9th. “You” don’t have to Give Anymore Than what is Expected of “you”. One Hour of Pay is equal to One Hour of Work. Projects are planned out in Man Hours. Give the Employer what “They” are Paying “you” for, at the very Least. “You” know if “you” Have Given a Good Days Work. Don’t listen to Over Zealous Superiors, that say “you” Are Not Doing Enough. They Are Not Looking Out for “your” Best Interests, We Are. If “you” are Not Experienced Enough to Gauge what a Days Work “Is”, Ask a Senior Mechanic. He or She will Help “you” Understand What is Expected of “you”.

10th. Last but Not Least. “It” Is Up to “All” of the Men and Women of “This” Trade to Be Role Models, for the Future of Our Business. We Have to Perform Our Duties With Class, and Have Respect for “This Thing”, that Is Bigger than any One of Us. We Wouldn’t Have a Trade, “If” It Wasn’t for the Men and Women, who have Fought for What Is Right, For Over a Hundred Years Now. “Greed” is Amongst Us Everyday. “It” Is Up To Each One Of Us to keep this Business On the Right Path, and Out Of The Hands of the “Greedy”. We Must Adapt to the Ever Changing Needs of Our Industry, and Overcome any Obstacles that Block Us from Getting an Honest Wage for an Honest Job.

The Crazy Thing About All of These Requirements Is, “This” Is What It’s Always Taken to Be a Union Member. But I Guess Some People Forgot How “This” Was All Started. All I Can Say Is, “You” Make “Your” Own Conditions. It’s Up To “You” to make “It” “As Fun, As “You” Want It”. Just, Don’t Do It At the Expense Of the Business or Any Of “Its” Members and “You” Will Have A Great Career. We Depend On Each Of Us, To Keep “This” Trade Great For All of Us! Be Smart, And Be Safe, My Brothers and Sisters!